Pathway to Hell
by ChristyK
Summary: Dean and Sam try to stop the owner of a mine from holding a seance in the mine which used to be an Apache burial ground
1. Chapter 1

This is another stupid little story I wrote before the secret was revealed. Hope you like it.

**Pathway to Hell**

"I don't believe it." Sam said looking down at his computer screen.

"What?" Dean looked over at his brother from the bed where he lay watching a basketball game.

"Remember that old mine shaft that Dad told us about, the one that was built on top of an old Indian burial ground?"

"Yeah."

" Well some idiot opened it up and is running haunted tours through it."

"You got to be kidding. That mine is dangerous, not just from spirit activity, but the mine itself is ready to collapse. Who the hell would give him permission to use it?"

Sam continued reading the article he had found on the computer then looked over at Dean.

"Seems some man and his cousin bought the land and hired some contractors to get the mine in enough working order that they now can run tours through it. It says here the man has been running ghost tours the last Friday of every month. Apparently they take a group of people down into the mine with a guide then leave them there for the weekend. Then sometime Sunday evening they go back down and bring them back up."

"Has anyone been hurt or killed yet?"

"Not according to this. But get this, this Friday they are going to hold a séance down inside the mine." Sam looked over at Dean. "If they pull out the old Ouija board they're going to be asking for all kinds of trouble."

Dean sat up in bed.

"Well I guess we know where are next hunt is. We better get down there and see if we can stop the séance, or if we can't, at least go down into the mine with them. Those jerks have no idea what they're dealing with. If they release those Indian spirits there's going to be a massacre."

**Nevada two days later**

"Hey Sam wake up." Dean reached over and smacked his sleeping brother on the arm. "We're here."

Sam yawned and stretched then looked out the window.

"Hendrick's mine two miles ahead." Sam read the sign. "Well I see they changed the name." Sam looked at Dean. "I remember Dad telling us the story about the mine when we were kids but I can't remember all the details."

Dean thought for a few seconds trying to remember all that their dad had told them.

"Well, I remember Dad said the land was an Apache burial ground but the government found out there was gold in the mountains, so of course they wanted the land.. There was a brief war between the Apaches and the government but the government won and the land was seized. A mine shaft was built and for awhile everything was fine. I remember Dad saying that there was a cave in and most of the miners were killed, but the ones that survived swear that some of the miners were butchered by Indian spirits before the mine collapsed."

"Wasn't there something about the miners that survived killing an Apache medicine man at the mine after the cave in in retaliation for the miner's deaths?"

"Yeah I think Dad said the surviving miners went into the camp where the Apaches were being held and took the medicine man and some of the braves out to the mine and butchered them at the entrance."

Sam looked out the side window as they approached a small house that served as the office for the tour.

"I guess these idiots don't know that you don't mess with Indian spirits."

"Guess not. But there going to find out soon enough if they hold that séance….Let's go." Dean started to open the door.

"Wait a minute; we can't both go in there."

"Why not?"

"Well, if we both walk in there and try to stop them from holding the séance they might call the cops and then neither of us will get to go on the tour. I think one of us should go in there and talk to them, and if we can't talk them out of it then the other one gets to go on the tour."

"Good thinking Sammy boy, 'bout time you come up with a plan instead of depending on me all the time." Dean said smiling as he pulled the door shut.

"Ah shut up….You got a quarter?"

Dean reached in his pocket and took out a quarter.

"Call it, who ever wins does the talking."

"Tails." Sam said as Dean flipped the coin… heads came up. Dean was about to flip it again when Sam grabbed the coin.

"You won, I guess you do the talking." Sam said.

"Best out of three." Dean said reaching for the coin. Dean didn't say it out loud but he didn't like the idea of his brother being the one to go down into the shaft if he couldn't talk the owners out of the séance.

"You didn't say that when you flipped the coin."

"Well I'm saying it now."

"Dean you won….now just go talk them out of it." Sam said as he put the coin in his pocket. He wasn't looking forward to going down into the mine, but like Dean, he also didn't want to be the one to stay above ground while his brother went down alone. Nothing to either brother was worse then sitting back unable to do anything while their brother was in possible danger.

Dean looked over toward the house; he said a silent prayer that the owners would listen to him.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter two

Dean looked over at Sam.

"You better get out of sight." He warned his brother who lowered himself in the seat.

"Try to convince them, I'm not looking forward to going down there." Sam gave Dean a nervous smile; he had always been a little claustrophobic and was not looking forward to going down into the mine. But he had lost the bet and he'd be damned if he'd let his brother take his place.

Dean nodded as he walked toward the house. Once there he knocked on the door and it was opened by a man in his thirties.

"May I help you?" The man asked.

"I read about the ghost tours you've been having and I'd like to talk to you about it."

"Sure." The man stood back from the door and motioned for Dean to enter then stuck out his hand. "I'm Joe Wilcox." Dean shook his hand and introduced himself. "What would you like to know about them?" Wilcox asked sitting down and motioning Dean to do the same.

"Well first off it's not what I'd like to know about them, but what I want to warn you about them."

"Warn me? What are you talking about?"

"I know I might sound crazy but you have to listen to me. I know about the mine, I've heard about it years ago. It's not safe, people could die."

"What the hell are you talking about? I've had safety engineers thoroughly check it out and I paid a lot of money to have it rebuilt to conform to the codes."

"I'm not talking about the mine itself, I'm talking about the séance you're planning. The mine was built on top of an Apache burial ground and the Apache don't take kindly to white men disturbing their dead."

"That was over a hundred years ago and I don't believe in any of that mumbo jumbo stuff."

"Time makes no difference to the dead. Those graves were disturbed when the mine was built, and even after the desecration of the dead more Apaches were later murdered in the mine including a medicine man and believe me; you don't mess with an Apache medicine man."

"What are you, nuts? You don't really believe in all that crap do you?"

"I not only believe in it, I know it to be true."

"You know it to be true?" Wilcox looked at Dean like he was nuts. "How the hell do you know it to be true?"

"My dad investigated the mine years ago and told me the story."

"So your dad told you a ghost story to scare you, that doesn't mean it's real."

"You don't know my dad." Dean could tell the man didn't believe a word he was saying. "Look, I'm just trying to warn you… Don't go through with the séance, that's all I ask. You can run tours, just be respectful of the area and eliminate the ghost tours and things should stay calm."

"I don't know who the hell you are but I've been running the ghost tour for the last three months and nothing's happened. We have all kinds of safety equipment installed including cameras in each of the mine shafts so we can monitor everything that goes on. We also installed phones so we're always in touch with anyone in the mine. We never had any problems."

"That's only because you've been lucky. But believe me if you awaken the spirits you don't know what kind of hell you're asking for."

Wilcox stood up and opened the door, he had heard enough. This man was clearly crazy.

"I think you should leave."

"Look I know what I sound like, but I'm telling you the truth. You hold a séance and open the door to the other side….you have no idea what might come through."

"I told you to leave." Wilcox reached toward a phone, threatening to call for backup if Dean refused.

Dean put his hand over the phone so Wilcox couldn't pick it up.

"Cancel the séance." He warned Wilcox then turned and walked toward the door.

He then walked over to his car and drove off.

"So what's up?" Sam sat up in the car once they were out of sight of the building.

"He thought I was nuts."

"So he's going through with it?"

"I don't know…." Dean had no idea if the man had believed anything he had said, but he was pretty sure he didn't. "I think so."

"Then I guess I'm going down."

"I don't like it Sam."

"We don't have a choice, there's no way we can let them take a group down there by themselves. One of us has to go down with them and there's no way he's going to let you go down now that you told him that story, he'll figure you'll start trouble."

"I say we sit this one out. If you go down there and run into trouble there's no one to back you up."

"Dean you know we can't let them take people down that shaft without at least trying to protect them. And he's not going to let you anywhere near the mine, not if he thinks you're going to try and stop the séance."

"Sam I said I don't like it. It's not going to happen."

"Dean….you know we don't have a choice in this, one of us has to go and I lost the coin toss… Besides, you talked to him and he thinks you're nuts …. so it looks like I'm elected."

"Sam…"

"I'll be careful." Sam could tell Dean still wasn't convinced. "At least we'll get to try out those new phones you bought and see if they really do work anywhere." Sam looked over at Dean who looked away shaking his head, still not liking the idea of letting his brother go down alone. "I'll keep in touch and believe me if anything happens you'll be the first to know." He added hoping that would make Dean feel better… it didn't.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter three

Dean knew Sam was right; they couldn't let them run the ghost tour without one of them going down with them. And Dean knew if he tried to get on the tour Wilcox would figure something was up and call the cops and the one thing they didn't need was the cops snooping around. "Sam I don't like this…. If things go wrong it's going to take me a long time to get to you."

"Hopefully nothing will happen; maybe he'll listen to you and cancel the séance."

"And if he doesn't?"

"If he doesn't… I'll deal with it."

**Friday afternoon**

Dean drove Sam to the mine and parked down the road while Sam went into the office and signed up for that night's tour. A half hour later he walked back up the road and got in the car.

"Well?" Dean said looking over at him.

"I'm in."

"What did he say?"

"He said the tour starts at seven and they'll take us down on the rail cars then drop us off and brings the cars back to the surface. Once we're down we don't come back up till Sunday evening unless there's an emergency."

"The séance?"

"It's still on."

"Damn!" Dean slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. He knew it was going to be a long weekend; all of it spent worrying about his brother.

"He said each of the tunnels has cameras and phones and they monitor the tour the entire time. Anything goes wrong they come down immediately and take us up."

"Sam, if they hold that séance and they actually bring someone back, they're not going to have time to send the cars down and bring you back up."

"I'll be prepared. I'll sneak a salt gun and holy water down rolled up in my sleeping bag. They work on other spirits; hopefully they'll work on Apaches."

Dean shook his head and looked out the side window, he didn't like it. He finally looked back at Sam.

"Here." He handed Sam a cell phone. "Wilcox isn't going to let me anywhere near that office to watch the monitor so I want you to keep in touch every hour. If I don't hear from you I'm coming down." When he saw his brother give a little smile and shake his head he added. "I mean it Sam….If I don't hear from you I'm so going to kick your ass next time I see you."

Sam knew not to say anything, Dean was in his protective brother mode and nothing he said was going to get him out of it.

**Friday seven o'clock **

Sam stashed his salt gun and holy water in his sleeping bag then hooked the sleeping bag over his shoulder and started walking toward the mine.

"You watch your back down there." Dean called to him. "Don't be a hero Sam, things start happening you call me."

Sam gave Dean a small smile and nodded.

**The mine**

Eight men including Sam and two women stood at the entrance to the mine. Mike Hendricks, Wilcox's cousin, was going to be their guide. He introduced himself and then went around the group and had each of them introduce themselves. He then told them what the weekend would hold. They'd be taken down into the mine by rail car and left deep underground, the cars would not return until Sunday morning. No one was to wander off by themselves, there were too many passageways and they easily could get lost. The area where they would be staying was safe but there were dangerous shafts that had no entrance signs posted over them. No one was to go near those tunnels. The first night they would hold a séance and see if they could awaken any ghosts, then the following night they would be given a tour through the mine, Sunday they would be brought back to the surface. He then asked if everyone was ready and when they all said yes he lead them toward the cars. Sam swallowed hard as he climbed into the car; he wished his brother was riding in the car behind him but he knew that was impossible and that he was now on his own.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again for the reviews. I wasn't sure whether to continue posting the chapters or not since the alerts aren't working again. So I decided to post one every few days instead of every day until the alerts are back up.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter four

Dean watched through binoculars and felt a cold chill go through him as he watched his brother and the others disappear into the mine. He hated the idea of Sam being on his own deep underground and thought he should have done more to try and stop him. But Dean also knew someone had to go with the group, they couldn't just walk away, and there was no way Wilcox would have let him go on the tour, not after he sounded like a lunatic warning him about the séance. Now all he could do was sit back and wait. He said a silent prayer that the séance would be cancelled even though Sam had already told him it was still on the agenda. He knew Sam could take care of himself and the others, but he also knew anything could go wrong. He looked toward the office and wished he could go in there and watch the monitor that Wilcox and told him about. Dean knew it was going to be a long weekend and that he wouldn't be able to relax until he saw his brother coming out of the mine on Sunday.

**The Mine**

Sam fought the claustrophobic feeling as the cars went deeper into the mine. As they descended he snuck his EMF detector out of his pocket. First he turned down the volume so no one would hear it and ask what it was, then he turned it on, when nothing registered he breathed a sigh of relief, maybe the mine was clear. But the relief didn't last long as the cars continued going deeper into the mine. He watched the light at the top of the tunnel grow smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, he knew it was only his imagination but it felt like he couldn't get a decent breath, as if some of the air had been sucked out of the tunnel. Darkness enveloped them and soon only small lights along the roof of the tunnel lit the way. Finally the cars stopped and their guide had them all get off. He then handed each of them a miner's helmet which had a light attached on the top.

"Okay." Hendricks said after they all had exited the cars and had gathered around him. "If anyone is having second thoughts they better say it now because once the cars leave, you're in it for the duration. No one will be allowed to leave except for medical reasons. Do you all understand?" He looked around at the group and when they all mumbled yes he pressed a button and the cars began heading back to the surface. They all watched nervously as their last chance to leave disappeared back up the tunnel and into the darkness. Hendricks then gave them each a sandwich that had been prepared before hand and they all wandered off in groups to eat. Sam took his sandwich then walked off by himself. He pulled out his cell phone but even though the phones had been guaranteed to work anywhere he couldn't get a call through to Dean. He decided to see if he could text message him.

Sam - _We're down, everything's okay _

He hit send and was glad to see that it seemed to be working. He waited a few seconds and then Dean's message came back to him

Dean - _Séance?_

Sam_ - Still on, tonight 10_

Dean – _Keep your eyes open and_ _watch your back_

Sam - _Will do_

Sam put the phone back in his pocket and headed back to the group.

**Outside**

Dean also put his phone back in his pocket. _Damn phone! _He had paid a lot of money for the phones and they had been guaranteed to work anywhere. _Thank God you_ _can still send text with them _he thoughtBut then another thought came to him. _What if_ _Sam doesn't have time to text him? What if he's attacked without warning?_ They usually could detect a spirit's arrival by the change in temperature, but down in the mine it would be cold all the time. Sam might not have any kind of warning before the spirit arrived. The only thing that might work would be the EMF detector. He pulled out his cell phone.

Dean – _EMF working?_

Sam gave a little smile as he pulled out his phone. He knew Dean would be in his mother hen mode and hoped he wouldn't be texting him every five minutes.

Sam – _I think so, no activity_

Dean – _Keep checking_

Sam - _Yes mom_

Dean frowned.

Dean – _Not funny_

Sam – _Chill Dean… Any activity, I'll let you know_

Dean looked at his watch. It was almost eight o'clock. Two more hours till the séance. A séance he prayed wouldn't call up the dead.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

I appreciate the reviews, thanks. Hope you like the rest of it.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter five

**9:45 PM**

Dean had spent the last hour pacing back and forth next to his car; finally he couldn't stand it any longer. He figured if he kept to the bushes and stayed out of sight he could make it down to the house without being seen. Once there he'd be able to watch through the window and hopefully be able to see the monitor, then at least he'd be able to watch what was happening during the séance rather then wait for Sam to get back to him. As he crept toward the house he fought the urge to call Sam to make sure he was okay and to warn him again to be careful. He knew his brother had hunted spirits hundreds of times before and knew what he had to do and didn't need to be told to be careful. But why couldn't he fight the horrible feeling he had that something was going to go wrong?

He finally made it to the house and hid outside the window where he slowly raised his head and peeked in. Luckily the monitor was in full view of the window and he watched as the group in the mine gathered into a circle. He could see his brother, a girl sat next to him on one side, Hendricks the tour leader on the other. _I wonder if he made a move on her yet _he thought to himself smiling He knew if he was down there he'd have already gotten the girl's phone number and would have already scheduled a date. But Sam never moved as fast as he did when it came to girls. Dean had a momentary feeling of guilt, he knew his brother stilled mourned for Jessica and it would take awhile before he became interested in girls again. He understood Sam's feelings. He had only met Jessica once and he could tell she was something special. The demon had told Dean that Sam planned on asking her to marry him. He wondered if that was true. His brother had never spoken to him about it before or after the demon had attacked them. Dean looked around the small office and could see Joe Wilcox playing cards with one of the men who helped around the mine. He wasn't paying much attention to the monitor, only glancing at it every few minutes. But Dean didn't take his eyes off of the screen, he watched for any sign that his baby brother might be in danger.

**The Mine 10:00 PM**

The tour group sat in a circle and gathered hands as Hendricks began chanting some mumbo jumbo that Sam knew was all garbage. Hendricks wasn't a medium and Sam relaxed knowing the stuff he was chanting wasn't about to raise any spirits. But after fifteen minutes of no activity Hendricks pulled out a Ouija board and Sam knew that the board could make all the difference. Even an amateur like Hendricks could open the door to the other side by using it.

"Um…. I really don't think you should use that." Sam said as he stood up.

"Why not?" Hendricks looked at him as did the others in the group.

"You don't know what you're dealing with."

Hendricks gave a little laugh then looked at the others who began giggling.

"You scared?"

"No, but I know what we're dealing with, you don't."

A couple of the males in the group began making snide remarks.

"Look buddy, we came down here for a séance and that's what I intend to get." Bill one of the men said.

"Yeah, so just shut up and let's get on with it." Ron another one said.

"If you release the spirits down here some, or all of you, won't make it out of this mine alive."

Bill looked over at Hendricks.

"Is this guy part of the show or what?"

"No, he's just on the tour like the rest of you." Hendricks looked over at Sam. "Look, if you don't want to be in on the séance that's fine, but don't ruin it for someone else, okay buddy?"

"I just don't think you should mess with things you don't understand."

"When you signed up for the tour you signed an agreement not to cause trouble or interfere with the tour. Now you can either sit back and enjoy it….or I can have one of my partners come down here and escort you out of here…It's your choice."

Sam sat back down but as he did he reached out and pulled his sleeping bag closer. He hoped the salt gun and holy water would stop anything that they might conjure up.

"Okay, that's better. We're all here to have a little fun, so let's begin." Hendricks took out the message indicator and put in on the board, he then put his fingertips on top of it. "Now who would like to be my partner?" Hendricks looked around the group.

"Not me." One of the girls, Alice, said as she moved closer to Sam. His little speech had scared her and she now wished the séance was over with.

"I'll do it." Ron said as he put his fingertips on the other side of the indicator.

"Good…now let's get started."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter six

Hendricks began asking questions as he and Ron kept their fingertips on the indicator.

"Is someone here in the mine who would like to speak to us?"

They waited about two minutes but nothing happened.

"We would like to communicate with any spirit who would like to talk to us."

Hendricks began again.

This time the messenger indicator began slowly moving in a circle. Everyone looked at Ron and Hendricks.

"One of you is moving it aren't you?" Bill asked.

"I'm not." Hendricks said.

"I swear I'm not either." Ron quickly added.

"Okay someone ask a question." Hendricks said.

"Did you die in the mine?"

As the indicator kept moving in a circle the group began firing out question after question.

"What is your name?"

"Are you one of the miners who was killed or one of the Indians who had been buried here?"

"What's it like to be dead?"

"How did you die?"

Hendricks put up his hand.

"Okay, one question at a time and give it time to answer."

"Did you die in the mine?"

The indicator continued moving in a circle then began to slowly spell out letters. D…E…A…T…H…T…O…T…H…E…W…H…I…T…E…M…A…N.

"Death to the White Man." Sam said softly.

"What?" One of the group asked looking at Sam.

"It spelled out Death to the White Man."

"Is this some kind of joke?" One of the men asked looking at Hendricks.

"Hey, I didn't move it." Hendricks looked over at Ron.

"Don't look at me, I didn't make it move."

"I really think you need to stop." Sam said as he stood up and looked around the tunnel. He couldn't be sure but he could swear the temperature was dropping.

"I don't think so." Bill said standing up and walking away from the group. "Hey you bastard show yourself!" He shouted into the darkness.

"Don't call it up! You don't know what you're asking for!" Sam said grabbing Bill by his arm.

Bill roughly pulled away from Sam.

"Show yourself you fucking coward!" Bill shouted into the mine then looked at the group and laughed. "There's nothing in this mine but a bunch of old Indian bones." He then spit on the ground. "And they can all rot in hell as far as I'm concerned."

"You idiot!" Sam once more grabbed Bill's arm. "You shouldn't be disrespectful of the dead!"

"Fuck you!...This is a bunch of crap. I paid good money for this séance and I ain't seen shit." He then looked at Hendricks. "So where are your ghosts?"

Before Hendricks could answer Alice stood up and pointed to an adjoining passageway.

"Oh my God!" Alice said her eyes wide with fear. "There's something moving over there!"

Sam looked toward the passageway and could barely make out a black mist starting to form into a shape.

"Everybody get behind me!" Sam shouted as he pulled out his salt gun.

"Where the hell did you get that? No weapons are allowed in the mine!" Hendricks stood up and started to reach for the gun but Sam pushed him away.

"Just shut up and get behind me!" Sam said as he raised the rifle and pointed it toward the mist.

**The office**

Dean watched the whole scene unfold. He couldn't hear what was being said but could see everything. As soon as he saw his brother go for the gun he knew things were going bad. He reached for the door, and finding it locked, backed up and kicked it in.

"What the hell's going on?" Wilcox said jumping out of his chair as Dean entered the room.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter seven

"What the hell are you doing here?" Wilcox shouted as he and the man with him grabbed Dean's arms stopping him from going any further. "I thought I told you to get out of here!"

"Look!" Dean nodded toward the monitor.

Wilcox looked at the screen.

"What the hell's he doing?" He asked seeing Sam with the rifle.

"Don't you see it?" Dean pulled away from the men and walked over to the screen and pointed to the mist.

"What the hell is that?" Wilcox's friend Mark asked.

"That's why I told you not to hold the séance." Dean said as he watched the screen, hoping that the salt gun would take care of the spirit. He would have given anything to be in the mine standing next to his brother at that very moment. They always backed each other up and seeing his brother totally on his own with no way to help him if he needed it terrified him. "I need to get down there." He said, more to himself then to Wilcox.

Wilcox couldn't take his eyes off the screen; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The mist kept growing and appeared to be forming into a shape.

"Oh my God…." Wilcox said in disbelief.

Dean reached up and turned the volume up on the monitor. He listened as his brother kept trying to get everyone to stand behind him.

"Who the hell is he?" Wilcox asked as he watched Sam try to take control of the situation.

"My brother." Dean said proudly.

**The mine**

"Get behind me!" Sam shouted. Most of the group didn't need to be told twice they ran behind Sam and stared in both horror and disbelief at the developing form. But Bill didn't listen and stood away from the group.

"What kind of bullshit is this?" Bill yelled thinking it was some kind of trick. "Can't you do better then that?" He asked Hendricks.

"You idiot I'm not doing anything!" Hendricks said as he reached for the phone that hung on the wall. Right now all he wanted was for his cousin to send the rail cars down and for he and the rest of the group to get the hell out of there.

Sam slowly walked toward Bill. When he was next to him he reached out and grabbed his arm and tried to force him behind him.

"This isn't a trick….you gotta get behind me." Sam said keeping his voice calm, trying not to scare the rest of the group anymore then they already were.

"You're in with Hendricks aren't you?"

"I'm not in with anyone. I told you this isn't a trick, that thing's real and it's pissed off." Sam said keeping his eyes on the mist.

"Bullshit! I'm not about to fall for some phony ghost trick." The man said laughing as he approached the mist. "It's all done with mirrors isn't it?"

"Stay away from it!" Sam cautioned as he raised his salt gun. Sam knew he had no choice but to fire. Bill would soon be standing directly in front of the spirit and once he was Sam wouldn't have a clear shot. He fired into the mist causing some of the people in the group to cry out in fear. The mist dissipated for a few seconds but immediately began to form again. Sam could feel his heart pounding in his chest; he knew once a spirit was hit by salt it destroyed it, but the salt seemed to have little effect on this spirit. He took careful aim and again shot the salt into the form. It once more blew apart but soon reformed. Sam reached in his pocket and quickly reloaded even though he could tell it didn't seem to be doing any good.

"Damn!" Sam said as he reached for his last resort, the holy water. He opened the bottle and slowly walked toward the mist, he knew he had to completely douse the spirit with the water in order to get rid of it. The spirit had now formed into a creature that sort of resembled a Wendigo, but unlike a Wendigo this one had wings. Its red eyes glared at Sam as he approached. "Everybody just stay calm." Sam said trying to keep anyone from panicking and causing the creature's attention to be diverted from him. "Now everybody just slowly walk back to the tunnel we came down. Don't run….just keep going and don't look back. Hendricks, call your cousin and get those rail cars down here and get these people out of here."

"What the hell is that thing?" Hendricks asked as he herded the people out of the room.

"Your worse nightmare." Sam said simply

They all left but Bill who still stood staring at the spirit not quite sure what to make of it. Once the others were safely out of the tunnel Sam walked over and stood next to him.

"You got to get out of here. I'll take care of this." Sam said to Bill who was still partially blocking his way, he took hold of Bill's arm and tried to pull him back. "Just back up and go with the others."

Bill turned around and looked at Sam.

"What kind of fool do you take me for? You think some special effect is going to scare me? The thing doesn't even look real."

"Shut the hell up and get out of here." Sam said through clenched teeth. He knew one wrong move and everything could go to hell in a second. He needed to be alone with the spirit and fully douse it with water which right now was impossible with Bill now standing directly in front of it. Sam slowly moved in front of Bill and used his hip to try and push Bill back.

"Don't you touch me!"

"Listen Bill….this isn't a joke, that thing's real. Now get the hell out of here and go with the others." Sam kept his voice low and steady trying not to make any fast movement that would startle the creature.

"Fuck you, I ain't going anywhere!" Bill reached out and grabbed Sam's arm causing the bottle of holy water to fly from his grasp. Sam dove for the bottle trying to get to it before it hit the ground but Bill shoved him and all he could do was watch their only protection shatter into a million pieces as it hit the ground, the water slowly sinking into the dirt.

Sam slowly turned around and looked over his shoulder into the snarling face of the creature.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you like it so far.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter eight

**The office**

"Son of a bitch!" Dean swore as he watched the scene unfold. His brother was now down in the mine with no protection at all. His salt gun was practically useless and now his only protection the holy water was gone. _Why the hell did I leave you go down_ _there by yourself?_ He knew Sam could handle himself in most situations but when you combine a hunt with a group of unsuspecting people who you had to try to protect, the danger quadrupled. "You bastard!" Dean said under his breath as he watched Bill on the monitor. He knew by breaking the bottle of holy water the man might have just sealed everyone's fate in the mine, including his brother's.

"What the hell is that thing?" Wilcox asked as he and Mark stood staring at the screen in disbelief.

"What's the quickest way down there?" Dean asked ignoring the question.

"By railcar, we don't have an elevator."

"You said you have cameras in all the mine shafts?"

"Yeah we have to, in case some idiot wanders off during a tour and gets lost."

Dean knew he had a miniature monitor back at the car and hoped he could program the feed from Wilcox's monitor to his own. That way he could keep tabs on what was going on in the mine as he made his way down into it. He left the office and ran to his car where he retrieved the monitor then ran back to the office. He kept glancing at Wilcox's monitor as he quickly began to rig up his own.

**The mine**

Sam had scrambled to his feet and shouted at Bill to follow the others, but Bill still wasn't convinced that the whole thing wasn't just some elaborate stunt. Sam watched as the creature's attention turned toward Bill. As soon as it did Sam waved his arms above his head trying to get the creature's attention back on him.

"Hey you ugly bastard look over here!" Sam shouted as he waved.

"This is a bunch of crap, that thing isn't real." Bill said ignoring Sam's attempts to get him to leave.

It was the last statement he'd ever make. The creature suddenly opened its wings and slowly started moving them back and forth as if drying them. Then before Sam could react it lifted off the ground then swooped down and grabbed Bill in its claw like hands. Bill let out a blood curdling scream as the talons dug deep into his chest puncturing his lungs. Sam reached up and tried to pull Bill from the thing's claws but it was too powerful and with one flick of its wings knocked Sam across the mine where he hit the wall hard and slid to the bottom of it stunned. The spirit, with Bill still in its claws, flew to the roof of the passageway and began flying down the shaft toward the tour group. Sam could hear the shrieks coming from the group as they all dropped to the ground as the creature flew over their heads and disappeared down the passageway. Total panic took over as the group began to run down one of the passageways that was clearly marked 'Dangerous Do Not Enter'. Sam managed to get to his feet and tried to ignore the pain in his side as he tried to head off the group.

"No! Stop! Don't go down there!" He shouted trying to warn them. "Head up the shaft the way you were going!"

They completely ignored him. Even Hendricks who knew the shaft was dangerous was in a state of panic and couldn't be stopped. Sam had no choice; he headed into the shaft with them.

"Be careful! Don't touch the beams!" He tried to warn them, but it was too late, the panicked group pushed and shoved each other right into one of the rotten beams. Sam heard the cracking timber just before the roof gave way. He threw up his arms to try to protect himself as old timber and rock rained down on him.

**The office**

Dean watched the scene in horror. He had heard his brother's warnings and watched helpless as Sam tried to keep control of the panic stricken group. Then he saw the cave in and felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Not only was his brother down in the mine with some God forsaken creature, now he was also trapped in the mine with no way out….that was, if he was even still alive.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Once more thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter nine

"What the hell was that thing?" Wilcox asked as he and his partner stood staring at the screen in shock.

"You said you have cameras in all the passageways?" Dean asked ignoring the question.

"Yeah, phones too."

Dean grabbed the phone and tried to dial the passageway that Sam was in but the line had been cut by the cave in.

Dean ran to the car and grabbed the first aide kit and two bottles of holy water; he then ripped out a page from their Dad's journal concerning Indian spirits and shoved it in his pocket. He returned in a few minutes and continued to rig his monitor to read the video feed off of Wilcox's monitor.

"What are you doing?" Wilcox asked as he watched Dean work.

"I'm going down there." Dean answered as he kept glancing up at the office monitor hoping to get some glimpse of Sam but all he could see was dust. He was thankful that the camera still worked but apparently the sound had gone out because all he heard was an eerie silence, unless….unless there was no one left alive to make any sound. He shook his head slightly trying to get the thought out of his head. _No, Sam was_ _alive and I'm getting him out of there_.

"I'll get help." Wilcox began walking toward a button on the wall which would sound an alarm and bring help from the town.

"No!" Dean shouted.

"What? Why not? We got to get down there and dig these people out!"

"You send a bunch of people down there not knowing what they're up against you could be setting them up for a massacre. No, just us, no one else."

"We don't know how bad the cave in was….it could take days to dig them out of there."

"Then we better get going." Dean said as he looked at the small monitor in his hand which now was working. "Which passageway are they in?"

"They're in twelve."

Dean dialed twelve on his monitor and was relieved when the collapsed passageway appeared on his screen. He was thankful that Wilcox had cameras in each passageway even the "Do Not Enter" ones; at least he could now keep tabs on what was going on. He looked at the monitor praying he'd see some movement. Finally as the dust settled he could see something moving toward the right of the screen. He prayed it was Sam but instead another man came into view as he walked by the camera. In the distance, near the entrance to the passageway he could make out his brother's body lying unmoving under some rocks. "Come on Sammy let me see you move." He said softly as he kept his eyes on the figure. "Please Sam, show me some sign that you're still with me." In what seemed like an eternity he finally saw Sam move his arm. He shut his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God." He watched as a few of the men pulled Sam out from under the rubble and propped him up against the wall. Dean winced with sympathy when he saw Sam's blood covered leg. He could clearly see the pain on Sam's face and knew his leg was more then likely broken. He pulled out his cell phone and text messaged his brother hoping that the text part of the cell phone was still working.

Dean – _Sam you okay?_

Dean watched as Sam painfully reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Sam – _Cave in._

Dean – _I know. We're coming for you_.

Sam – _Bill's dead. Holy water gone. Saltgun useless_

Dean – _Bringing more holy water and Indian prayer from Dad's journal. _

_Maybe it will help. Sam…how bad are you hurt?_

Sam – _Busted leg, maybe broken rib… Others seem okay. _

Dean had seen the cave in and knew that Sam had taken the full force of the falling roof; the others had been further into the passageway when it had collapsed and had escaped injury.

Dean - _Hold on Sam, we're coming_

He could see Sam nod on the monitor as he lowered his cell phone. Dean had no idea if the Indian prayer would work, but it was all they had. He knew the salt gun should have worked but it didn't even seem to slow the creature down, and the holy water, who knew if that would work on the thing or not… he could only hope so.

Dean prayed that the blood on Sam's leg was from a cut and not from a broken bone piercing his skin. If it was, he knew Sam could bleed to death or go into shock from the pain. He watched as two men tied a makeshift tourniquet around Sam's upper thigh to slow the blood flow. He blinked back tears as he watched his brother grimacing in pain as the men pulled the tourniquet tight.

"Let's go!" Dean shouted as he led the way to the mine shaft. _Hang on Sammy_ we're _coming_.

Along the way they stopped and threw tools they would need to dig the group out into the rail cars. Dean hung the miniature monitor around his neck so his hands would be free but he'd still be able to watch everything that happened in the passageway. The three men then hopped in the rail cars and began their descent, hoping they wouldn't be too late.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews, hope you like the rest of it.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter ten

**Mine shaft**

"What the hell are we going to do now?" John one of the men asked as he looked around the crumbled passageway.

Hendricks walked over to the phone and picked it up, it was dead.

"The phone's dead, the line must have been cut when the roof caved in. We're damn lucky the lights still work."

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?" John began pacing nervously.

"Help's on its way. My brother sent me a text and said they're on their way down." Sam winced in pain as he tried to move into a more comfortable position.

"What the hell was that thing?" Carol one of the girls asked Sam as she huddled next to her boyfriend Mike.

"I'm not sure but I think it was the spirit of a medicine man who was killed here years ago."

"What do we do now?" Mike asked Hendricks as he rubbed Carol's back trying to comfort her.

"We got to try and dig our way out of here. But be careful, this whole thing could collapse at any moment." Hendricks said as he and some of the men walked over to the rock covered passageway. Sam tried to pull himself up, he had to help them get out of there, but the pain in his leg and side were agonizing and he collapsed back to the ground. He clenched his teeth in pain as he grabbed his injured leg.

"You just take it easy buddy….we'll do the work." Mike said as he put his hand on Sam's shoulder and patted it before walking over to help the other men.

The men then began to carefully remove some of the fallen timber and rocks. They were working for about ten minutes when a scream from one of the girls caused them to spin around.

"Oh my God!" One of the girls screamed as she pointed to the far corner of the passageway.

They could barely make out the form of the winged creature standing in the darkness. But as it stepped out of the shadows they could see it was covered in Bill's blood and still held his severed arm in its grasp. It looked back and forth among the group as if deciding which one it wanted next. Its eyes stopped at Sam who swallowed hard knowing in the condition he was in there was no way he could fight the creature.

**The rail cars**

Dean had kept his eyes on the monitor throughout their decent and sucked in his breath when he saw that the creature was back. He could see the group huddled together in the far corner of the mine shaft and could also see his brother sitting on the ground unable to defend himself or anyone else.

"Oh God no…." He said softly as he watched, he knew Sam was helpless. He still had his salt gun but the gun didn't even seem to faze the creature and he knew Sam's holy water was gone. "Can't this thing go any faster?" He shouted to Wilcox as he slammed his hand against the side of the car in frustration. He had to get down there; he had to get to Sam. Dean watched in horror as the creature slowly approached Sam, and as his brother lifted the salt gun but didn't fire. Sam knew that a blast from the gun could bring the rest of the roof down on their heads. Dean blinked back tears as he watched Sam lower the gun then shut his eyes as he waited for the creature to attack. Dean had never felt this helpless in his life; he knew Sam was going to sacrifice himself in order to keep the others safe, at least for now. He couldn't believe he was about to watch his brother die and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

Dean could see the creature advancing toward his brother till it stood directly over him. The thing then reached down and grabbed Sam's injured leg and Dean watched helpless as Sam threw his head back and screamed in agony as the thing started lifting him up by his leg.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean screamed at the monitor, he would give anything to be standing next to his brother right now, even his life. His heart broke knowing his baby brother was about to die and there was nothing he could do but watch. "You bastard let him alone!" He said through tears as he watched the creature reach toward his brother with its other hand then grab his shirt and start pulling him up towards its snarling teeth. "Sammy…." He said softly as tears ran down his face and a cold chill shot through his entire body. His hand reached to the off switch on the monitor….there was no way he was going to watch his brother die.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews, hope you like the rest of the story.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter eleven

Dean knew he couldn't keep the monitor off forever; he still had to keep his eyes on the others. He took a deep breath and blinked back tears as he switched it back on and prayed he wouldn't see his brother's mutilated body. What he saw was a group of terrified people huddled against the side of the shaft and one person lying on the ground in front of them in obvious pain… Sam. A tear ran down his face, but this time it was a tear of joy, his brother was still alive, at least for now.

"Sammy…." He breathed a sigh of relief as he took out his cell phone.

Dean – _Sam, you okay?_

Sam slowly picked up his phone.

Sam - _Yeah, but it killed another one of the group_

Dean - _Did it hurt you?_

Dean had seen the thing standing over his brother and wondered why it had left him live and had gone after one of the others.

Sam – _No but I think it's picking us off one by one._

Sam wondered also why the thing had dropped him and gone after someone else. It didn't make sense…he was the weakest and usually they were picked off first. Maybe, Sam thought, it was because the thing could smell the blood on him from his leg wound and it wanted fresh blood. Maybe it considered him contaminated…he had no idea and it was the best thing he could come up with.

Dean – _Hang in there, we're almost there._

Sam – _Hurry!_

Sam dropped the phone back onto his lap.

**The mine shaft**

Sam had watched in horror as the spirit dropped him back to the ground and flew over to one of the other men. It grabbed the man in its claw like arms and flew to the ceiling where it proceeded to rip the man to pieces. The rest of the group screamed in horror and fear as the man was disemboweled in front of them. The creature then hung from the ceiling like a bat blood dripping from its mouth.

"Oh God we got to get out of here!" Carol screamed as she watched the thing stare at the group as if trying to decide who was next. But instead of sweeping down on them again the thing suddenly turned and flew back down the dark passageway.

"That thing is going to kill all of us!" One of the men said as he sank to the ground and wrapped his arms around his body as he rocked back and forth.

"You got to keep digging ….you can't give up!" Sam knew _he_ wouldn't be going anywhere, not with his leg the way it was but maybe some of the others could survive if they could get to the main passageway. He knew his brother was on his way down and if they could make it to him they stood a chance. Dean had said he had more holy water and also an Indian prayer; hopefully it would be enough to destroy the creature or at least send it back to where ever it came from.

**The rail cars**

"Damn it can't this thing go any faster!" Dean pounded his hand on the side of the car. He knew every second could mean another life lost, including his brother's.

"We're going as fast as we can, any faster and we'll jump the track." Wilcox told him, he too wanted to get down as fast as possible; his cousin was also trapped in the mine.

Dean had seen the creature devouring the man on the monitor and as bad as he felt for the man he was also happy it wasn't his brother, but sooner or later it would be, it was only a matter of time. He had never seen a creature like it before. It appeared to be a combination of a Wendigo and some kind of spirit. He shined his flashlight on the page from their dad's journal and read the Indian prayer over and over trying to memorize it. He could only hope it would do the trick. If it didn't, they all could die.

**Later**

They arrived at the entrance to the collapsed mine and began carefully removing the rocks and timber that blocked it. Dean pulled out his cell phone and tried to use it, he wanted Sam to reassure the others that they had arrived and were beginning to dig them out. The phone still didn't work so he once more had to text a message to Sam.

Dean – _We're here_

There was no answer.

Dean - _Sam…we're here_.

When there was still no answer Dean lifted up the monitor and looked at it. He watched as Sam weakly picked up the cell phone. He could tell the blood loss was starting to affect his brother by his slow movements, he looked weak and exhausted. Then before Sam could answer, Dean watched his brother turn his head and look at something to the right of the screen.

Sam - _Dean_… _Its back_

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter twelve

"Son of a bitch!" Dean read Sam's message. "We got to get in there!" He said as he began grabbing rocks and tossing them to the side. He kept his eyes away from the monitor knowing there was nothing he could do but watch one of the group die and pray it wasn't his brother this time.

**Mine shaft**

The group watched in horror as the creature stood in the shadows its huge wings slowly moving back and forth. Sam felt helpless, there was nothing he could do but watch another person die or die himself. He tried to stand but cried out in pain when he put pressure on his injured leg. All he could do was watch the creature slowly walk toward them as it choose its next victim.

"Look, we're sorry we disturbed you, we didn't mean to." Sam tried reasoning with it, not even sure if it understood English or would listen. "You don't have to hurt anyone else. We'll close up the mine and no one will bother you again."

The creature turned its head sideways as it studied Sam. But his words meant nothing to it, he had heard enough white man's lies when he was alive. These people had made a mockery out of his tribe's burial ground and they had to pay. It hissed at the terrified group as it chose its next victim. Before anyone could do anything the creature swooped down and plucked another man from the group. He screamed in fear and pain as the thing once more flew back into the dark passageway the body dangling from its claws, but the screams only lasted for a short time before the deadly silence.

Sam blinked back tears; he was suppose to be saving people, not sitting by watching them die one by one in front of him. He hoped the thing chose him next and didn't make him watch everyone die before it was his turn. Sam painfully pulled himself over till he was in front of the others who were huddled in the corner of the shaft, but there was little he could do to help them. His salt gun was useless and the holy water was gone. All he could do was hope the creature chose him next, then maybe Dean would be able to reach the others before someone else was killed.

**Outside the tunnel**

Dean had been tossing rocks for the last ten minutes trying to ignore the monitor but he knew he had to see what had happened in the mine shaft. He picked it up and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Sam was still alive. He counted the remaining people and knew that another one of the group was missing; the creature now had killed three of them. He also noticed that Sam had positioned himself in front of the rest. The creature would now have to go through him to get to anyone else.

"Sammy." Dean said softly as he touched Sam's image on the screen wishing he was standing next to his brother. He knew Sam would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat if it meant someone else would live. He was both proud and terrified at the same time, proud that Sam was the kind of man who would die for another, and terrified that today might be the day he would. "Come on dig, dig, dig!" Dean shouted to Wilcox and his friend. He was determined that no one else was going to die today…especially his brother.

**Mine shaft**

Sam clenched his teeth in agony as he tried to move his leg; he could feel the bones grinding together and knew it was definitely broken. He also realized that there was little he could do even if he could stand up, the thing was choosing who ever it wanted and there was nothing he could do about it. Sam turned to look at the remaining group.

"My brother's on the other side of this pile of rock. We got to help him dig us out or we're all going to die." Sam began digging at the dirt with his hands, maybe he couldn't stand but at least he could try to help dig.

Hearing him, Kyle one of the men stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you anyway …and how did you know about that spirit or what ever the hell that thing is?"

"I've done research on things like this."

"Research? I never even knew these things existed …..but you did. And why the hell doesn't it grab you? You're injured….you would think it would pick off the weakest one first, why not you?"

"I have no idea." Sam looked up at Kyle. ."Look we don't have time for this….we got to get out of here." Sam knew they couldn't waste time arguing, they had to get out of there before the thing came back.

"Well I'll tell you what….." Kyle reached down and grabbed Sam under his arms and ignoring his cries of pain pulled him over to the passageway that the creature had disappeared into.

"If that thing won't come to you…let's see if we can bring you to it."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks again for the reviews, I appreciate each of them.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter thirteen

Dean had just glanced down at the monitor and saw the man drag his brother over to the passageway in which the creature had disappeared into. He watched with tears in his eyes as Sam grabbed his injured leg and squeezed his eyes shut in pain when the man dropped him back to the ground.

"You bastard!" Dean shouted as his heart pounded in his chest. He could tell that the group was beginning to panic and turn on his brother. He frantically began digging faster if that was even possible.

**Mine shaft**

Sam didn't even try to pull himself away. He knew the man was just frightened and it was only natural for him to strike out at somebody and he was the most likely candidate. He watched as some of the group tried to come to his defense while the rest of them sided with Kyle.

"You can't just choose whose next!" One man said as he grabbed Kyle by the arm.

"Why not? He's the one who knew about this thing!" Kyle shouted back at him as he pulled away. "He's the one who should go next!"

"He tried to warn us. He tried to protect us." Mike said trying to reason with him.

"That's what he wants you to think! Who the hell is he, how did he know about that thing? I think he's involved in this…… That thing had ample opportunity to kill him …. hell he's even hurt and can't even defend himself! Why the hell doesn't it go after him? I know why…. because he's in on it! He has something to do with that thing!"

Sam weakly raised his hand to silence the group.

"Instead of standing there arguing, you better dig! And you better dig with everything you have because that thing is going to be back and it's going to pick you off one by one!" Sam pointed to the collapsed entrance. "My brother is right outside those rocks, he can help, but you got to help him get in here."

"Who the hell are you to give us orders?" Kyle looked down at Sam.

"I'm just trying to save your ass you moron!…..Now either you dig or you die, it's up to you."

The majority of the group listened to Sam and turned around and started digging, they knew the only way out was through the crumbled rock.

"Well I'm keeping my eye on you buddy and if that thing comes back and doesn't choose you next, I'll kill you myself!" Kyle then turned back and began to help the group remove the rocks.

Sam reached in his pocket and took out his cell phone.

Sam – _Dean you got to hurry…They're turning on each other._

Dean – _I saw everything….Hold on Sam we're almost there._

Sam – _ Dean… if I don't make it…I just want to say_…

Dean – _You're making it Sam….so just shut up._

Dean watched as Sam shook his head sadly as he laid the cell phone in his lap. He could tell his brother was growing weaker by the minute He could see Sam shivering both from the pain and the blood loss and knew he had to get to him as quick as possible.

**Two hours later**

"We're through!" Wilcox shouted as he pulled a rock away and looked into the collapsed mine shaft.

Even though they were through they knew that there was still a chance that when they dug a hole wide enough to get the trapped people out, the roof could collapse and bury them all alive.

"Easy! Easy!" Dean shouted as they carefully began removing the rocks and rotten lumber from the hole.

Once it was wide enough Dean grabbed the first aide kit and crawled through the hole, he immediately went to his brother who was covered in dirt and blood.

"Hey." Sam gave his brother a weak smile. "It's good to see you."

"Hey yourself…. Can't leave you alone for one minute without you getting yourself into trouble can I?" Dean said jokingly.

"I had everything under control." Sam tried to joke back but then cried out in pain as Dean examined his leg.

"Yeah it looks that way." Dean glared at Kyle who looked sheepishly away. Even though he was tempted to go over and grab Kyle by the throat for hurting his brother he decided now wasn't the time. They had to get out of there, and they had to get out of there fast.

Dean took out his knife and cut Sam's pants leg up the middle so he could get a better look at his leg. He gave a little sigh of relief when he noticed that at least the bone hadn't broken through the skin, and that the blood that covered Sam's leg was from a deep gash on his upper thigh and not a broken bone. If the bone _had_ broken through there would have been a good possibility that Sam would have lost his leg, or even possibly his life. Dean took a flash of whiskey out of his pocket and opened it. He looked at Sam.

"Sam I'm going to have to clean that cut. You might want to take a swallow of this before I do."

Sam didn't have to be told twice. He took the flask from Dean and took a big swallow then handed it back to his brother who also took a swallow. Dean knew what he was about to do was going to hurt like hell but he had no choice.

"Brace yourself, this is going to hurt a little" Dean knew it was going to hurt a lot more then a little and he knew Sam knew it too.

Sam nodded as he clenched his teeth waiting for the pain..

As gently as he could Dean pulled Sam's wound apart so the alcohol could soak into it and hopefully wash out the germs. Then he took the flask and poured the liquid over the open wound. Sam cried out and grabbed his brother's arm squeezing it till Dean thought it was about to break. When the pain finally eased up he let go and slumped back to the floor totally exhausted.

"Sorry Sammy." Dean said as he wrapped a clean gauze pad over the wound from the first aide kit. He knew he should stitch it up but that would have to wait. Right now their main concern was to get out of there before the thing returned. Dean turned to the group who were already being helped through the hole by Wilcox and Hendricks.

"Keep moving, keep moving…." He kept repeating, trying to hurry them along. Right now all he wanted was his brother safely out of the mine where he could get a better look at his leg. If it was a simple break he could cast it himself rather then risk going to the hospital where there was always a chance their fake IDs could be spotted. But if it was serious break they'd have no choice, they'd have to go to the hospital and have it professionally set. The wound he knew was deep, but he had stitched worse before. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when he felt his brother grab his arm. He glanced down at Sam who was looking over his shoulder into the dark passageway.

"Dean it's coming back."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter fourteen

Dean looked down the dark passageway and could make out movement at the end of it.

"Come on Sammy we got to get out of here." Dean grabbed Sam and started dragging him toward the exit ignoring his brother's cries of pain.

"Dean you gotta leave me….I'll hold you back….Just get the others out…." Sam kept pleading with him. He knew there was no way he could keep up with the others, not with his injured leg, and he didn't want his brother to die trying to save him. "Damn it Dean get out of here!" He yelled when Dean continued dragging him toward the exit.

"We go out together Sam, or not at all."

"I don't think I can make it, all I'll do is hold you back." Sam grabbed Dean's arm and forced him to stop. "Dean you got to get these people out of here, you can't lose another one of them because of me."

"I'm not losing anybody, including you."

Dean drug Sam over to the opening and some of the men on the other side pulled him through, then Dean climbed through after him. After making sure Sam was okay he turned to Wilcox.

"Get him out of here." He told him then turned back toward the collapsed passageway.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked grabbing his brother's arm.

"I'm going to send the son of a bitch back to Hell." Dean said as he took the holy water and the page from their dad's journal out of his jacket. He looked at Wilcox and Hendricks "Go, get him out of here."

"No!" Sam tried to pull away from the men who reached down to grab him. "Damn it Dean I'm not leaving you down here by yourself!"

"I got to try and get rid of it Sammy. We can't let this thing live."

"Why don't we just seal up the mine? It'll be trapped and that will be the end of it."

"What if it's not? What if it manages to escape? No Sam, I got to try and finish it."

"Well I'm staying with you; I'm not leaving you down here by yourself."

"Sam you're hurt, you lost a lot of blood and can barely stay awake. I can't be worrying about you while I'm trying to get rid of that thing; I want you out of here." Dean once more looked at the two men. "Get him out of here."

This time they reached down and each grabbed one of Sam's arms and put them over their shoulders, then as gently as they could they headed toward the rail cars.

Sam struggled as they pulled him away. He'd rather die then leave Dean down there by himself.

"No! Dean no!" He screamed at his brother. "Let me go!" He begged the men but they wouldn't let go of him and he was too weak to fight them. "Dean!" He screamed looking back at his brother as tears welled up in his eyes. "Dean come with us!" Sam knew his brother was a good hunter and had hunted many times by himself, but that was when he knew what he was dealing with. They had never come across something like this before and they didn't even know if the holy water and prayer would work.

Dean listened as his brother's pleas grew quieter as he was taken further down the passageway and to the rail cars. _At least Sam and the others should be safe now _he thought as he crawled back through the hole and into the collapsed passage way. He positioned himself right near the entrance to the hole and waited with the opened bottle of holy water and prayer page in his hands.

**Ten minutes later**

When he no longer saw movement down the dark passageway he began to get worried. What if the thing had escaped? What if it had followed them out undetected and was attacking the rail cars? What if by forcing Sam to go with the others he had inadvertently put his brother in danger? He leaned out of the hole and listened, there were no cries for help only the steady humming of the rail cars as they made their way up the shaft and to the surface. Satisfied that the group was safe at least for now, he pushed himself back into the shaft.

Once back in he instintively knew something was wrong. He slowly looked up and standing on a ledge in front of him was the creature, its wings stretched out on both sides of it making it appear even bigger then it was.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean mumbled to himself, pissed off that he had let his guard down just for a second and had never even heard the creature approach him. He quickly tossed some of the holy water onto the thing which screamed in pain and flew toward him knocking the bottle and the prayer page from his hands. Dean jumped for the bottle which miraculously had landed upright a few yards away, and as he reached for the water he shouted out what he could remember of the prayer from memory. He knew he was forgetting some of the words and knew that by not repeating the exact words in the exact order the prayer wouldn't have the desired affect. But just as his fingertips reached the bottle he felt the creature's claw like hands grab his leg and hold him back. He then felt himself being pulled toward the thing and frantically tried to grab hold of anything to stop himself from being pulled backward. The creature finally grabbed him by his waist and flipped him over till he was looking directly into its face. He was helpless; the last thing he saw before shutting his eyes and waiting to die was the creature's snarling teeth approaching his throat.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to everyone who reviewed throughout this story, I loved reading your different comments. This is the last chapter and as with all my stories I hope it doesn't suck too badly.

**Pathway to Hell**

Chapter fifteen

Dean knew it was senseless to struggle; the creature was way too strong for him. But instead of thinking of himself he thought of his brother. Sam would be lost without him, he knew that. The thought that his brother would be all alone in this world scared him more then the thought of dying. He struggled to free himself but the creature had him firmly it its grasp and his struggling was in vain. He felt the slime from the creature's mouth dripping onto his neck and there was nothing he could do but wait for the agony to come. But instead of killing him outright the creature began carrying him back into the darkness of the passageway. As it did, Dean could see the body parts of its previous victims scattered around the shaft. He had seen horrible things throughout his life, but nothing like this, this topped everything. Then suddenly without warning the thing threw him down and spun around. Dean, once released, quickly crawled away and hid behind some rocks. What was going on he wondered? Why had it released him? Then he heard it, a voice coming from the end of the tunnel….Sam's. Dean could hear his brother reciting the Apache prayer.

"Damn it Sammy!" Dean whispered to himself. Somehow Sam had made it back and now he was going to die right along with him. Dean watched in horror as the creature screamed in agony as the words were read then started heading back down the passageway toward his brother.

"Sam get out of here!" Dean shouted as he followed the thing back down the passageway. He picked up a large rock and threw it at the creature trying to get its attention off of Sam and back onto him. "Get me you ugly son of a bitch!"

But the creature ignored him and kept heading toward Sam.

When Dean got to the end of the passageway he could see Sam lying on the ground near the hole they had dug. He held the page from their dad's journal in his hand as he recited the prayer as loud as he could.

The creature now stood over Sam screaming in both pain and rage, the prayer obviously having an affect on the thing but not destroying it. Dean frantically looked around for the bottle of holy water. Finally he saw it lying about twenty feet away and scrambled over to it. He picked it up then ran over and stood protectively in front of Sam who kept reciting the prayer.

Dean squeezed the entire bottle of water onto the creature.

"Take that you bastard!" He shouted as he tossed the empty bottle at the creature.

The thing threw back its head and screamed as smoke poured from its body. It reached out and grabbed Dean and tossed him against a wall as its body began to break apart and its screams slowly died. The creature staggered a few steps toward Sam then started to collapse on top of him.

Sam tried to roll out of the way but ended up crying out in pain when he moved his injured leg. There was nothing he could do so he covered his head with his arms and waited to be crushed by the weight of the thing.

"Sam!" Dean scrambled back to his brother and grabbed him by his shirt. With one hard tug he pulled him out of the way just as the creature collapsed.

They both lay there breathing hard as they watched the creature burst into flames and then turn to ash. It was finally over, the creature was destroyed.

Both brothers lay staring at the mound of ashes before finally turning to look at each other.

"How the hell did you get back here?" Dean asked.

"Wilcox and Hendricks….They got the others on the rail cars then helped me get back. They realized everything we told them was true and that we were only trying to protect them, and they weren't about to let you die without trying to help you. If it wasn't for them you'd be dead because I never would have made it back here without them."

"Damn it Sammy you could have gotten yourself killed coming back here…. and you probably screwed up that leg worse then it was."

"You're welcome." Sam gave a little smile.

"What?"

"I saved your life….you're welcome." Sam gave a bigger smile.

"Oh …..thanks." Dean smiled back at his baby brother realizing that it was true; if not for Sam he would have been that thing's next meal. "Okay…I owe you one….Now let's get the hell out of here."

**Later**

Once they were safely out of the mine Dean explained to Wilcox why they couldn't hang around to wait for the cops. He understood and thanked the brothers, he also apologized for not believing them, three people were now dead because he hadn't listened to Dean. But Dean assured him that it wasn't his fault, the majority of the people they ran into didn't believe what they told them and he didn't blame them one bit. He and his brother were among the few people in the world who really knew what was out there.

They then helped Dean put Sam into the back seat and made him as comfortable as possible. Dean thanked them then got in the car and sped off, he wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the mine before the cops showed up. He had no idea how Wilcox was going to explain to them what had happened at the mine but right now he didn't care, his only concern was to get Sam to a hospital and thoroughly checked out rather then try to take care of his brother's injuries himself.

Once he left the county he took Sam to the first hospital he came to, to have his leg set and have his cut cleaned and stitched. Sam had wanted Dean to do it himself rather then risk going to the hospital, but Dean was worried that the cut might have gotten infected in the dirty mine and didn't want to take the chance. Also, he thought Sam's leg was a simple break but there was no way of knowing for sure, if it was a worse break and they didn't have it taken care of he could be crippled the rest of his life. Dean's explanation to the hospital staff was that his brother had been mountain climbing and had slipped and fallen off some rocks. He figured that once Sam's leg was taken care of he'd allow him two days of rest in the hospital before they'd have to leave. They both knew they had to get out of the hospital before Sam's insurance cards were found to be fakes.

**Two days later**

They were lucky, it was a simple break and that the hospital let Sam go with no argument, only giving him instructions to use crutches and stay off of his leg as much as possible for the next few weeks and to keep the cut clean and dry. They told him to return in ten days to have the stitches removed but Dean knew that wouldn't be a problem, he had removed stitches many times before and he could easily cut the cast off himself.

For the next few weeks they would hold up at a motel out of state and give Sam time to rest his leg, and then they'd be back on the road again. Even though they were grateful that they both had survived the hunt, they both knew they had been lucky this time and that someday their luck would run out and that one day one, or both of them, wouldn't be coming home.

The End


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